William Calcraft (1800–1879), the most famous English hangman of the 19th century.

William Calcraft (1800–1879), the most famous English hangman of the 19th century.

Calcraft was born in Baddow, near Chelmsford, in 1800. He was a shoemaker by trade, but at one time was watchman at Reid's brewery in Liquorpond Street (now Clerkenwell Road), London, and afterwards butler to a gentleman at Greenwich.

At a later period, while obtaining a hawker's precarious living, he accidentally made the acquaintance of John Foxen or Foxton, the hangman, which led to his employment at Newgate to flog juvenile offenders, at ten shillings a week. On an emergency during 1828 he was sent to Lincoln, where he put two men to death.

Calcraft was the longest serving executioner of all and was noted for his 'short drops' causing most of his victims to strangle to death. It is not known precisely how many executions he carried out but it is estimated at between four hundred and four hundred and fifty, including those of at least 35 women, making him the most prolific British executioner.

He was appointed hangman for London and Middlesex on the 4th of April 1829. His first experience was as assistant to Foxen at the double hanging of housebreaker Thomas Lister and highwayman George Wingfield at Lincoln Castle. Calcraft's first job as No.1 was the hanging of the murderess, Ester Hibner at Newgate on the 13th of April 1829. 1829 was a busy year for him with no fewer than 31 executions. He was assisted by Thomas Cheshire in many of these.

He officiated at the last public hangings in Britain - those of Francis Kidder (the last woman) at Maidstone on 2nd April 1868 for the drowning of her step daughter and Michael Barrett - a Fenian (what we would now call an IRA terrorist) for the Clerkenwell prison explosion which killed 12 people and injured over 100, outside Newgate prison on 26th May 1868.

On the 20th April 1849, Calcraft hanged seventeen year old Sarah Thomas in public at Bristol for the murder of her mistress who had maltreated her. This was one job which greatly affected him on account of her youth and good looks.

His last hanging was that of John Godwin at Newgate on 25th May 1874 after which he retired on a pension of 25 shillings - £1.25) per week provided by the City of London in 1874. He died in December 1879.

Most of Calcraft's early work came from London and the South East as the Midlands had George Smith and Thomas Askern operated in Yorkshire and the North. With the advent of the railway system in the mid nineteenth century Calcraft was soon able to operate all over Britain and apparently loved travelling.

 There was 6,000 miles of railway by 1850 which meant that he could effectively and conveniently work nation-wide.When William Calcraft retired it ceased to be a salaried position and in fact fees barely increased at all from the 1870's to the 1960's. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that most of those who held the post of executioner did it not for financial gain but for other, more personal, reasons.

Calcraft was the last executioner to perform in public (hanging was confined to prisons after 1868) and was said to favour a short drop so that he could pull on the legs of the victim in order to strangle them.